Commission to investigate Russian influence approved by Polish president

President Andrzej Duda has announced that he will sign a bill creating a commission to investigate Russian influence in Poland, which will be empowered to ban individuals from public office for up to ten years.

The opposition argues that the body will be used for political purposes against them ahead of this year’s elections. A new poll shows that a large majority of the public thinks likewise. Many legal experts have also warned that the commission is unconstitutional.

Acknowledging such concerns, Duda says that, as well as signing the bill, which will bring it into force, he will also refer it for assessment by the constitutional court. That body is widely seen as being under the influence of the ruling party, and is currently partially paralysed by an internal dispute between its judges.

The Russian influence commission was first proposed by the national-conservative ruling coalition late last year. It was then approved by the Sejm – the lower house of parliament, where the government has a majority – in April before being rejected by the opposition-controlled upper-house Senate.

However, on Friday the more powerful Sejm overruled the Senate’s decision and passed the bill, thereby sending it to the president for his approval.

There had been speculation that Duda, normally a government ally, may exercise his right to veto, as he has done on a handful of occasions. The proposed commission has drawn criticism even from some legal experts otherwise supportive of the government.

Ordo Iuris, a legal group that has previously supported efforts by the ruling party to tighten the abortion law and restrict sex education in schools, issued a negative opinion on the proposed commission, which it said would be a “quasi-judicial body…lacking many guarantees to ensure a fair trial”.

It also warned that the “unclear definition of Russian influence” would allow the commission to be used arbitrarily and raised concerns over its access to classified information. This “clearly unconstitutional body” would in fact undermine the fight against Russian influence “to the detriment of internal security”, concluded Ordo Iuris.

During a speech this morning, Duda noted that “doubts have been raised” about the bill. He said that was why he would refer it for assessment by the Constitutional Tribunal (TK).

However, while the president is allowed to await a TK decision before signing a bill into law – something Duda did earlier this year with a judicial reform passed by parliament – in this case he used his right to enact the bill before the TK issues its ruling.

In his speech today, the president argued that the issue of potential Russian influence is so important that it urgently “requires explanation”, which was why he had decided to sign the bill.

The president claimed that there have in the past been concerns over Russian influence in Poland, for example in an attempted takeover of state-owned chemicals giant Azoty. “As president, and as an ordinary citizen, I would like to know who lobbied for [the sale], who facilitated these decisions,” said Duda.

“Let people who have decided to participate in public life have the courage to stand before the commission and say what their intentions were,” said the president. “Honest people who acted in the interest of the Republic of Poland have nothing to hide and nothing to be afraid of.”

However, critics of the plan have noted that the commission’s members will be chosen by the Sejm, where the government has a majority, and its chairperson picked by the prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki.

They say that, given the politicisation of many other public bodies under the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, it is likely the commission will also serve a political purpose, especially ahead of this autumn’s elections, at which PiS hopes to win an unprecedented third term in office.

A poll by United Surveys for the Wirtualna Polska news website found that a large majority of the public, 61%, think the commission is a “pre-election ploy intended to discredit political opponents”. Only 20% think it is “the right move and a body that will reliably explain irregularities regarding cooperation with Russia”.

Speaking today, Duda said he “believes that parliament will choose members of the commission in a responsible way”. He also argued that anyone punished by the commission will be able to challenge such decisions in court.

Main image credit: Jakub Szymczuk/KPRP

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.